Bead embroidered miniature bag

Usually things go the other way round. I make a doll outfit and then I make accessories going with it. I guess this time it won't work like that, but it hasn't been planned that way.

In fact I am working on a Barbie doll outfit at the moment, on the top, to be precise. In the middle of this project, however, I ran out of one bead color. No problem, who doesn't like a bead order? I like to optimize my bead orders, though, so I'm still listing what exactly to get.
In the meanwhile I started on a new idea, a bead embroidered handbag for Barbie. I have made bags on the bead loom and in brick stitch and peyote before, but I wanted this one to be sturdier, with a lining, one that she didn't get from the department store, but from a bag store. It's really kind of funny because I would never think of going to such a store myself, all I need is my trusted kitten tote.
Just so you know, Barbie didn't like her new handbag and I get why. It quickly became clear after I started beading that it wouldn't work with her outfit in colors and style, so she's going to get something different eventually.

My plan was not to make this bag flat like the totes I had made before because I wanted to put something (whatever that was going to be) inside.
I started by cutting out the backing for the beads, a large rectangle marked with smaller ones for the front, the back, and the flap, with smaller pieces for the sides of the bag. I would bead the surface, sew on Ultrasuede for the lining, and then fold everything up and close the seams.
It sounds easier than it turned out to be. While my measurements weren't wrong, I hadn't calculated how much thicker the beads and the Ultrasuede would make my piece which made it harder to fold up and sew together right. For example, I would have wanted the flap to be a bit longer which it would have been on a flatter piece.
I wanted a kind of button or hook sewn to the front to go through a hole in the flap to close the bag, but because the flap wasn't as long as planned, I had to settle for the strap instead.

There were a few more things I learned while sewing up the seams, so if I'll ever make another one, I'll know what to pay attention to beforehand.
I'm still very happy with the result, though, I just wish it hadn't taken me so much longer than I had expected. Not that that doesn't happen to me all the time, thinking about it ;-)
I have already been contemplating other ways to make miniature bags.

As Barbie has decided not to use this bag, Jessica has taken a look. She said she needed an overnight bag and thinks it will work nicely. She tested it with a short dress and a blouse. And now she wants an outfit going with this.
Putting my thinking cap on in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Oldies but Goodies - Easter eggs and more

This week's Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge was about Easter ... white and colorful "eggs", pastels, flowers. I hope you'll like my little collection.
And can someone take those chocolate eggs away from me now, please? ;-)

1 and 2 Cat's Wire
3 My Bijou Life
4 RioRita
5 Jewelry Art by Dawn

Oldies but Goodies - Blooming

Spring is definitely around the corner in our hemisphere.
To celebrate this, the topic for this Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge is inspired by the blooming that has been going on all around us.
My plan had been to take some pictures in our little garden to complement this post, but it's cold out there and I just can't bring up the motivation right now.
Instead I will be giving you these beautiful blossoms that our members shared to get you into the right mood!

1 The Crafty Chimp
2 My Bijou Life
3 Cat's Wire
4 Beyouteous
5 Jewelry Art by Dawn
6 RioRita

Oldies but Goodies - More black and white

Black and white - a classic combination. Of course it would have been mean to demand from our members only to show black AND white pieces for the new Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge, but if black or white (with merely a hint of color here and there), the collage all brings them together nicely, don't you think? Of course there's more to see if you click through to the challenge.

1 Cat's Wire
2 Jewelry Art by Dawn
3 RioRita
4 My Bijou Life
5 The Crafty Chimp

Ms Dawn is going out

Ms Dawn is going out and she's not wearing a mask. Dawn is in the 20s - the previous century's decade, that is, not her 20s and not the 20s of our century.
Dawn may be born in the 70s, but she doesn't care. She's a Flapper at heart and she demanded that I took her golden and hot pink dress off and gave her something a little more elegant. She became my "Mini Flapper" (compared to Flapper Barbie and Flapper Christie) and this is the story how.
If you please, you may imagine the following read to you in the manner of an announcer at a fashion show.

Ms Dawn's sleeveless dress is worked in the peyote technique in a subtle combination of dusty pink and grey with a hint of silver shimmer in both. It goes up all the way in the back and features a rectangular neckline in the front.
At the bottom seam it is finished with a small fringe.
Pink blossoms accented with a small center bead are generously scattered all over the dress except in the upper part of the back.

For jewelry she has chosen a classic and unobtrusive long necklace from clear beads that she is wearing sideways. She has refrained from adding any more jewelry on this occasion so as to not take attention off her outfit at all.

The headband that picks up the flower embellishment of the dress is perfect with the slightly windswept look of Ms Dawn's bob. Unfortunately she wouldn't share the secret with us how she manages to tame her full hair, but we suspect that the lovely grey headband makes up a big part of it.

A night out is impossible without wearing an elegant evening cloak. Ms Dawn's choice is this custom made model matching the color of her dress perfectly. It is bead loomed and has a high peyote collar. The hems are embellished with small clear accent beads for a sophisticated look.

These fashionable sandals too are designed to match the colors of the outfit. For a better fit on the foot they have small pink straps. With sandals as comfortable as these Ms Dawn will have no problems to dance the night through if she so desires.

An accessory that can't be missed is a purse, big enough to hold the most important things for a night in the city. At the last minute Ms Dawn has chosen this cute little drawstring pouch that matches her outfit instead of a silver clutch that her friend suggested because she can just hang it from her wrist.

And here's our Flapper now, waiting for her friends at the big cat sculpture.
Thank you for joining us and we hope to welcome you again to our next fashion show at La Maison Cat!
Enjoy your night as our Ms Dawn no doubt will, too.

Dawn was a registered trademark of the Topper Company. I am not affiliated with Topper in any way.

Colors

What are your colors?
This Jewelry Artisans Community Blog Carnival's topic was inspired by two things.
One was the comment of one of our members on an Oldies but Goodies challenge "This challenge has pointed out to me how seldom I use bright colors. That needs to change!".
The other one was that we noticed I had used a lot of blue in 2020 without knowing why.

So this is the topic for today's post:
"How do you choose colors for your jewelry? Do you prefer certain colors, knowingly or unknowingly? Do you like bright or subdued colors?"
The best way to start this was to have a look at my different stashes and to think about in what way I use them - Delicas, seed beads, lampwork, cabochons, and more.

It was interesting. Obviously I am not a very colorful person. Looking down and seeing that I'm dressed in black and grey at the moment, I shouldn't be too surprised about that.
Of course these are only a few examples, but I came to the conclusion that I prefer animals in lampwork beads, subdued colors in cabochons, and only my Delicas and seed beads offer at least a bit of color although I also have a lot of different grey and other neutral tones.
I didn't take a picture, but my other beads - cubes, bugles, daggers, etc. - only confirmed that.
In the last few years I have also not been using my colored wires much except in the yarn baskets (these are just a few of them).

What does that mean? Am I a dull person? I went to my folders with pictures of all of my pieces and found some color after all, but not as much as I had expected to.
A lot of blue, purple, a bit of red here and there, very little yellow, some orange, but all in all my work isn't bursting with color.

So I thought about why that is.

I have a few colorful lampwork beads, but I'm not very good at using them. I have always been drawn to the blue ones which is one of my favorite combinations with silver. So I stopped adding to my lampwork stash except for one or the other animal that I couldn't resist.

I hardly use colored wires anymore after people made some very mean remarks - not to me, but other sellers - about their pieces looking cheap. While I didn't agree, it obviously influenced me more than I even noticed. I'll have to get on that.

My cabochons are usually favorite stones of mine, labradorite, moonstone, jasper ... right, they don't necessarily come in bright colors. Nothing will change here because I'm determined not to buy cabochons on a whim anymore to hide them away with the ones I already have.

Delicas and seed beads, I got colors there. I'm just thinking of my Bollywood bracelets, like this one for example. Oh wait, more blue and purple. What's my problem? ;-)

Ah, but there are others. Take this one, for example.

Seems it's easier for me to use colors with Delicas and seed beads. I think that's why I love Heather's work so much and like to transfer it into beads. Her colors make me happy.

So what's the conclusion?
I like to see colors, but I'm not using them often enough myself.
What do you think, should I change that? Or should I just accept that the colors will come to me if they want to?

If you want to know what the other participants are thinking about colors, check it out here.

My Bijou Life
Jewelry Art by Dawn

Oldies but Goodies - Favorites of 2020

I don't think I have to say much about 2020. You all know that it was not a fun year, and that is putting it extremely nicely.
The topic for this week's Jewelry Artisans Community Oldies but Goodies Challenge was to pick our favorite pieces from that year to remind us that you could still find some beauty in it. There is a wonderful collection of personal favorites in that post, so you should really click through to see all of them.

For the collage I could only pick a few, to whet your appetite, so-to-speak ;-) I hope it's working!

1 My Bijou Life
2 The Crafty Chimp
3 Jewelry Art by Dawn
4 RioRita
5 Cat's Wire